NASA’s director of Mars operations Dr. Venkat Kapoor as an Asian-Indian character who identifies religiously as being “a Hindu.” The group pointed out that in Scott’s film, his name is changed to Vincent Kapoor, and he’s played by British black actor Chiwetel Ejiofor, who says his father was “a Hindu” but that his mother was “Baptist.”

Mindy Park, described by Weir as Korean-American, is played in the movie by Mackenzie Davis, a white, blonde actress.

Now I wish I could proceed on to the rest of this blog post, but people have asked the question as to whether or not this is, technically, whitewashing. It’s going to take a few paragraphs, but let’s get that out of the way-

Okay, The Martian is Guilty of Racebending/Whitewashing

Let’s start from the very, very, very top. The Wikipedia entry for this can actually be found under “racebending”, with “whitewashing” cited as being [citation needed] a more archaic term. Their definition of this practice is:

“when the race or ethnicity of a character, in a story, is altered to an ostensibly more ‘palatable’ or ‘profitable’ ethnicity.”

“So unless a physical description is somehow relevant to the plot, OK, you know he’s missing a leg — something like that, but unless it’s like really important to the plot then I don’t physically describe my characters at all.”

“You can imagine them however you like. Like, for instance, the ethnicity of Mark, I never told you.”

In response to criticisms of Chiwetel Ejiofor being cast as Vincent Kapoor-

“He’s an American. Americans come from lots of different sources! You can be Venkat Kapoor and black.”

In response to criticism of Mackenzie Davis being cast as Mindy Park-

“Whatever ethnicity she has, she’s an American and her family has been in America forever, which is why her first name is just Mindy, but her last name is Park. But Park is also a British surname so the casting people [could have] thought Mackenzie Davis looks like someone descended from Brits. And she did a great job! I’m certainly not complaining about anything related to casting.”

While not a direct quote, MTV News also shares how Weir envisioned Park while writing the novel:

“He did admit that he’d always pictured Mindy Park as of Korean lineage, but emphasized again that he had never actually explicitly written her as Korean.”

“I didn’t set out to deliberately balance the crew. For the most part, I just wanted them each to be unique enough for the reader to tell them apart without prompting. It’s a real problem in written fiction. You don’t have the face on-screen or voice being heard to remind the audience who’s who. They need to know it immediately from the name.
So there are no two people on Hermes who are the same demographic. There’s one white American guy (Beck), one Hispanic guy (Martinez), and one German guy (Vogel). There are two women of undefined ethnicity (presumably white) but one of them is the Commander, so you won’t get them confused either. Especially since they all call her ‘Commander’.
So it wasn’t any deliberate attempt at diversity. It was really just a shortcut to making sure the reader knew who was who. You’ll find I pulled the same trick with the NASA characters: Teddy (white guy who is in charge), Mitch (white guy who isn’t in charge), Venkat (Indian), Annie (white woman), Mindy Park (Korean woman), Rich Purnell (African American).”

Now I want to be fair and admit that not every author is [or can be] Alan Moore, who has very publicly denounced all film adaptations of his own work. Weir is currently working on his sophomore novel, with The Martian making up the entirety of his current bibliography. As an author with his first-ever book being adapted by Hollwood, and with the film rumoured to be nabbing an Oscar, there are more reasons against than for when it comes to rocking the boat. So let’s discard what Weir has to say, separate from his novel, completely.

All art is open to interpretation regardless of the creator’s intent, so without Weir’s opinions here’s what we know about the characters:

“Venkat [not Vincent, as he’s known in the film] Kapoor” is an East Indian name.

That being said I’m willing to make the concession that free of Weir’s intentions Mindy Park certainly could have been either White or East Asian. When it comes to Venkat Kapoor, on the other hand, most signs point towards him being South Asian, more specifically East Indian. Let’s pull up the definition for “racebending” again:

“when the race or ethnicity of a character, in a story, is altered to an ostensibly more ‘palatable’ or ‘profitable’ ethnicity.”

Chiwetel Ejiofor is an Academy Award winning actor. He’s also a Nigerian English man, part of a demographic that has not struggled in Hollywood compared to many others. Comparatively speaking I would run out of American films headlining East Indian talent before I ran out of fingers. Are Black men more profitable than Indian men? Everything I know about North America answers a resounding yes. So this is what we’re left with:

Venkat Kapoor was racebent for The Martian.

Mindy Park [given the author’s intent] was whitewashed for The Martian.

The Martian Has Great Roles for Asians [Note the Strikethroughs, They’re Hard to See]

I’m trying to save a lot of my emotions for the latter part of this post, but I just typed “Benedict Wong The Martian” into Google Image Search and nine out of the first ten images are of Matt Damon in a space suit. In all honesty, at the time of this writing there are none, there are literally no images of Benedict Wong as he appears in The Martian. I need to take a deep breath. Sorry.

Here he is as Kublai Khan from Netflix’s Marco Polo. Quite literally the best I can do.

The reason I had to step back for a second there is that Benedict Wong’s role in this film is not a small one. As Bruce Ng, the director of JPL [Jet Propulsion Laboratory] he’s responsible for ensuring that the shuttle which helps save Matt Damon’s character is built at all. Numerous times throughout the film they refer back to him, and over at /r/movies many audience members were quite taken with his performance.

Also featured in the film are Eddy Ko and Chen Shu, both Chinese actors, who play scientists at CNSA [China National Space Administration]. I unfortunately cannot place them in even the next category under Benedict Wong as they’re barely playing characters of any kind. That’s not to condemn their performances, but to say that their roles are nearly inconsequential. Yes, their help is needed in the course of the film, but they have no actual motivations, no actual reason for existing short of waiting for NASA to seek their aid.

The Martian offered up one very sizable role to an East Asian actor, and had every intention of casting a South Asian as an even more prominent character, but you know what-

Once again, I am entirely willing to focus solely on the sins of 2015 and not of 2014. Though for those not in the know it is probably worth pointing out that, as the lovely poster mock-up on the right pokes fun at, Exodus: Gods and Kings is a movie that takes place in ancient Egypt and relegates all minor roles to people of colour, while allowing White talent to headline. With that out of the way, back to The Martian.

On the diversity front this is a film that gave Benedict Wong a fairly sizable role and intended to give a South Asian actor a South Asian role. It’s also a film that then gave that South Asian role to a Black man and whitewashed, depending on how you look at it, an East Asian character. So why exactly should I be cutting him any slack?

Not even you get a pass, Cabin in the Woods. [sections of wiki entry redacted to avoid spoilers]

Okay, any competent casting director, at least. If the best Ridley Scott et al. can do when faced with the fact that Irrfan Khan is unavailable is spring for an actor of colour who may or may not even hail from the same continent is . . . well, isn’t worth applauding. Having a South Asian character portrayed as mixed-race instead of full blooded South Asian isn’t somehow progressive when it robs a minority group of, if not a role [assuming that no other actors would have sprung for the part], the opportunity to see themselves in a big budget Hollywood movie. Which brings me to my next, and most emotional point-

I’m Tired of Being Told What to Be Angry About

Or more accurately, I’m tired of being told what I can’t be angry about. When I first read about the news over at the AV Club this was the comment at the top of the thread below the article, and the first that I read:

Brian Sounalath is a South East Asian actor who has been working in the industry for the past 8 years and dropped us an email about this very topic, sharing that he’s hesitant to talk about “race things on [his] social media, because then people think [he’s] this huge complainer”. This is with people who are ostensibly largely his own friends and family, which says so much about what MANAA is doing when their statements reach far and wide to complete strangers, many of whom share the same sentiment as beema up above.

And you know what, it made me realize why Phil Yu’s site is called Angry Asian Man. It finally clicked; I finally got it, It’s not even that I’m tired about being told what I should and shouldn’t be angry about, it was actually allowing myself to be angry about, well, all of it.

I can’t subscribe to idea that MANAA’s “all or nothing approach” isn’t helping anyone, because they can not and should not be silent. I won’t allow Benedict Wong’s incredible performance to blind me from seeing that, had Venkat Kapoor and Mindy Park actually been appropriately cast, this film would have passed a form of Racial Bechdel Test [again, I consider the Chinese scientists barely cyphers, given a handful of lines and barely an emotion besides]. I’m not tired, I’m sick of people saying “but what about-” to excuse behaviour that has been perpetuated since Hollywood’s inception and earlier. To be ignorant of wrongdoing is to be compliant. It says that I’m fine with every talented White actor being given the role of a racial minority be they Benedict Cumberbatch or Emma Stone and I’m not. I’m not fine with it, I’ve never been fine with it.

The Martian Was Not a Bad Movie

I don’t believe in writing a blog post without having done an appropriate amount of research, and while I wasn’t able to read the book I did see The Martian this past Tuesday. I enjoyed it. It was well-acted by all involved and a lot of fun from start to finish.

But every time I saw Mackenzie Davis onscreen I couldn’t ignore the fact that there could have been a Korean in her stead. As much as I like Chiwetel Ejiofor it was impossible for me not to hate that he was supposed to be a “Kapoor”, that they had anglicized his character’s name to make him more believable as a half-Black half-East-Indian man. I like both of these actors, and to hit that last point again I’m angry that I was unable to fully enjoy them doing what they do best.

At this point I’ve said nearly all I have to say. The Martian, Ridley Scott, and everyone involved who had the authority to make decisions are guilty of whitewashing and racebending prominent roles, keeping minority talent from filling them and minority audiences from seeing themselves on the silver screen. It’s important to point out that there are groups who are vocal, who are making their complaints heard. It’s almost equally important to note the voices in direct opposition, those who don’t want to hear it, those who at their least malicious chide us to make better use of our time.

My plea to you, whether you care about this topic, or consider me a friend, or even just want to impress that one attractive Asian person you know, I don’t care, is to share this post with someone, with anyone. Even if you don’t share the actual post, as long as you’re talking about it with people who are blind to the problem, or those who refuse to acknowledge it is one at all, that’s more than enough. If I can only speak for myself then all I can really say is that I’m angry about this, but my hope and dream is that it’s something you can be angry about as well. No change has ever occurred because of the mild irritation of thousands, but the anger of even just a few hundred? That’s an entirely different story.

11 responses to “Putting The Martian On Blast – Racebending, Whitewashing, and the Last Straw”

I have never really thought about what character is what race, but I’m white so of course anything I have to say about race is null and void. I should still have the right to be angry, though, or am I not allowed that as well? Anywho, shouldn’t an artist who is creating something be able to have free reign on all aspects of their creation? I’m a painter and if I tend to only paint animals and not people, should people begin to get angry because they don’t show up in my art? I really do not understand this shouting about not being represented. Create a production company and make movies with whomever you please. Putting down the guy who is already doing what they please, just not the way you would do it will not solve anything. Forcing someone to change their creation to suit someone else’s ideas is just wrong. That is my opinion however, if I’m allowed to have that as well.

Of course you’re allowed to have your own opinion. I also think you have the right to speak about race, though whether or not people might disagree with you on the basis of speaking from certain inexperiences is another matter entirely. The civil rights movement in the States didn’t succeed on the actions and ideology of African Americans alone, it also took the addition and aid of White voices and others to combat the injustices of the time. Which all leads me to the question:

Do you think there’s a problem?

If you don’t, there’s not much more to be said in this particular discussion and we would have to switch gears to talking about the harm that is a lack of representation. If you do then that begs even more questions, such as:

What is the harm or audacity in asking others for help to fix a problem?

What kind of response is it to ask those with a problem to simply handle it on their own?

Is a problem that doesn’t directly affect you at all deemed as being that much less important than if it did?

Again, this entire conversation hinges on your personal opinions regarding diversity and representation in the media and how much it can or should matter to those who aren’t reflected by it. I can’t make you care about something you don’t want to, as you said your opinions are your own and you’re allowed to have them.

No problem. I just like to suppose. I also enjoy thinking more deeply and appreciate your response. This definitely helps me to gain experience.
I would like to know of the harm created because of a lack of representation in various artistic outlets, such as entertainment.
I do not believe there is any harm in asking others for help to fix a problem. “Problems” however can be a matter of perspective. It never hurts to ask.
I also think that any one person has the right to respond to being asked to help another with their problems.
For example, if my friend asks me to watch her dogs while she is on vacation, I have the right to tell her she should find someone else.
Easy as that.
What kind of person I am should not hinge on my ability to help others with their problems. It doesn’t mean I never help others, but that I have the right to choose whatever options available.
I choose how I respond. I am not responsible for how another reacts to my response.
When my son asks me to help him beat a level on his video game, my usual response is for him to do it without my help. He is capable of the task and if he is not then he will fail (game over). My son will either gain the skills needed to win the game, or move on to something more enjoyable.
Is there harm in responding to my son’s request in this way?
Does this one response define who I am as a mother?

Since you’re asking how or why this might be a problem there’s one source I like to direct people to. It’s a study from a few years ago regarding how watching TV positively affected the self-esteem of White boys, but had a negative outcome on White girls and African American children. This review concerns how the portrayal of Black men and boys in the media not only affects them, but how others in society tend to view them. I could go on, but those are only a fraction of a broad range of material out there that I encourage you to seek out on your own.

When you say “I choose how I respond,” you are speaking the irrevocable truth. And while you’re not necessarily “responsible for how another [react to your] response” [people can and will overreact] you have no hold over how they perceive you. As I said in my last comment “I can’t make you care about something you don’t want to,” and it works in every direction. Your actions are your own, but there’s no way for you to insist that they be seen in one way and one way only.

Once again, and as you said, your actions are your own.

And thus you’re allowed to politely yet firmly decline, or to ask that we handle the problem ourselves. That being said, to liken this issue to a dogs that need to be watched or a level in a video game that needs to be beaten truly diminishes the issue.

Ultimately the only way any of us is really defined is by our actions. We are what we do, and no one [not excluding myself] can make you do anything you don’t want to.

I was not diminishing any issue, just simplifying to make a point. I do not allow my children to watch much television and that again is a choice I get to make. Television is not a necessity in life. To me someone making issue over television and movies diminishes problems such as homelessness, death, and famine. I do believe our culture is headed in a bad direction. Thanks for the chat. I will follow the link provided and do a bit more exploring. This is a new topic to me and I like to view from every perspective. I am a minority in many ways, but you couldn’t tell that by the color of my skin.

I really appreciate you going out of your way to have this discussion with me, and being open to doing a bit more exploration on your own.

My last point has to do with you saying that “making issue over television and movies diminishes problems such as homelessness, death, and famine”. That’s a false equivalency, as I never compared the issue of diversity and representation with these other problems. It’s also very easy to bring up a tragedy like cancer, for example, to supersede whatever else is being discussed. The problem there being that the conversation is indefinitely put on hold and effectively silenced.

I’ve been covering this topic a lot and one response I see over and over again is “why waste your time on this when real racism exists?” It presumes that I don’t consider racial profiling, police brutality, et cetera, legitimate concerns when I most definitely do. I can and do care about and consider all of these issues at once, my writing about The Martian and films like it do not make them my sole concern.

Thanks for the clarification. I am most likely trying to defend my thoughts and opinions before truly listening and understanding what you are saying. This is of course is how most humans respond initially. You definitely aren’t defined solely by this post as a concerned being in my book, but asking these questions has helped me to further explore this topic. Thanks again for your own thoughts and opinions and I will try to look at them more objectively and not jaded by my earthly experience. It is a difficult task, but I am trying to better myself and it seems to be needed.

Again, I’m really glad you decided to have a back and forth with me about this, and it actually helped me refine and clarify some of my own thoughts. I really appreciate it and hope you keep asking the questions you need to in order to come to your own conclusions.